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Sermon #59 (15th May 2022 at Essex Church \/ Kensington Unitarians)<\/strong><\/p>\n I wonder, what do you think of when you hear the phrase \u2018hand-made\u2019? Maybe scarves, hats, socks, jumpers or blankets, knitted by family members or friends and given as gifts? Clothing or jewellery. Pottery or sculpture. Woodwork or furnishings. Cards. Cakes, even.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Perhaps you think first of beautiful bespoke objects, the sort of artisan creations that might be showcased by the Crafts Council, great hand-made works of art that are probably out of reach for most of us to own, rightly priced to reflect the many hours of expert labour that have gone into making them. Or maybe when you hear \u2018hand-made\u2019 you think of something more rustic \u2013 home-made \u2013 those items that are a bit rough round the edges, perhaps, not necessarily made with the highest skill level, but which most likely hold much greater sentimental value, because of the personalised effort and care that\u2019s gone into making them. Such items are tangible tokens of love.<\/p>\n I mentioned at the start of the service that we used to have a creativity group here at the church. It ran for over a decade, and there was a small but dedicated core of us that turned up each month, taking turns to suggest new crafts to try and occasionally projects to work on together. Members shared their skills and enthusiasms, teaching each other to knit and crochet, quilt and embroider, do bead-work and lino-printing, make sculptures from rubbish, weave and make felt. One of our younger members went on to set up her own business making felt hats as a result! You can see the fruits of our labour in the seasonal wall hangings, the church banner, the large \u2018Fabric of Diversity\u2019 banner in the hall next door. Many of our creations were more ephemeral. But these few items have lasted. And there\u2019s something rather poignant about them now. When I look at them I think of all the people who were in that group ten, twenty, years ago, and who aren\u2019t around any more. Of those who were founder members of the creativity group, only Juliet and I remain, as over the years most of the regulars have died, or moved away, all over the world in fact. Still, it\u2019s poignant, but also heart-warming, that these treasured artefacts remain\u2026 these creations that our dear friends took the time to make with their hands. With care and attention. With love.<\/p>\n Back in the day, though, I noticed that the very idea of a creativity group seemed to divide people. Reactions were quite polarised. People seemed to see themselves as \u2018crafty\u2019 or decidedly \u2018not crafty\u2019. When I encouraged people to join us they often told me \u2018I\u2019m not creative\u2019 \u2013 and that was their final word on the matter \u2013 no matter how much I tried to reassure them that the ethos of the group was very much about process over product \u2013 that participants were encouraged to have a go and see how they got on (and not to worry too much about how well it turned out in the end). Everyone discovered that some crafts suited them better than others \u2013 some had a knack for detail and precision \u2013 others were all about flair and spontaneity \u2013 we only found out by trying our hands. Still there was pleasure to be found in the sense of play, and learning, and occasionally mastery.<\/p>\n In my own family the same binary \u2013 \u2018crafty\u2019 vs \u2018not crafty\u2019 \u2013 seemed to be at work. My Mum could turn her hand to making just about anything. Throughout my childhood it seemed that the phone never stopped ringing with distant relatives asking her to make fancy dress costumes out of crepe paper for all their kids and \u2013 as time went on \u2013 the kids of their various friends and neighbours too. She\u2019d got a reputation, both for the quality of her handiwork, and for not saying no very often. I don\u2019t think she ever had a pattern for these costumes \u2013 she just made them up as she went along and knocked something up on her sewing machine after work \u2013 and the recipients were delighted. And she was proud, I think. She also made me a series of good luck mascots at various key points in my life \u2013 often on the morning of a big exam I\u2019d wake up to find one of these eccentric hand-made characters waiting for me on the settee \u2013 I still have them dotted round the house to cheer me on.<\/p>\n Dad, on the other hand, is someone who has always been resolutely \u2018non-crafty\u2019 \u2013 or at least that\u2019s how I used to see it \u2013 he couldn\u2019t be persuaded to join in with creative projects very often. One notable exception was that in the first lockdown in 2020, when he couldn\u2019t get out to a shop to buy me a birthday present, I joked that he should make me one, given that we had a houseful of blank cards and felt tip pens (I\u2019ve inherited the crafty gene from my Mum). It was, mostly, a joke \u2013 I didn\u2019t think he\u2019d actually do it \u2013 but eventually he gave in and made me a card. I think it must\u2019ve been the first time he\u2019d drawn a picture \u2013 a little red flower \u2013 in 80-odd years. And he wrote \u2018Happy Birthday\u2019 in slightly shaky hand across the top. I will treasure that card. Anyone who knows us knows how much we drive each other nuts. But still, I will treasure it.<\/p>\n And I should add though I\u2019ve always thought of Dad as \u2018not crafty\u2019, \u2018not a maker\u2019, I realise that\u2019s not quite right. He actually made his shed and our outhouse from scratch, with no prior training, back in the early 80s \u2013 before the advent of YouTube tutorials \u2013 with only a DIY manual and a few helpful hints from Fred over the road who was a bit handy. Dad sat in his armchair of an evening, when I was a kid, drawing plans to scale on his clipboard, working out how to make dovetail joints and window frames\u2026 and that hand-made outhouse is still standing \u2013 just about \u2013 40 years on.<\/p>\n I tell you these stories, of our creativity group, and my family, for one reason only. To encourage you to make things. Even if you think you can\u2019t. Whether you see yourself as crafty or not. Make things for the fun of making, for the stimulation of learning a new skill, for the spiritual benefit of single-pointed focus and attention, for the fulfilment of self-expression, for the camaraderie you find in a community of makers, for the delight you might bring by presenting a hand-made gift to someone you care about, and \u2013 yes \u2013 for the treasures you might leave behind once you\u2019re gone. Make time in your life to make things, if you can. Amen.<\/p>\n Sermon by Jane Blackall<\/strong><\/p>\n An audio recording of this sermon is available:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n